NEWS ARCHIVE

Bear spotted inside Pittsburgh Mills mall

Sightings reported at Sears, The Olive Garden

A bear trap was set up in a gravel lot behind the mall after a second bear was seen near The Olive Garden.

Bear spotted inside Pittsburgh Mills mall

Sightings reported at Sears, The Olive Garden

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Updated: 7:38 PM EDT Jul 23, 2012

FRAZER TOWNSHIP, Pa. —

The Pennsylvania Game Commission said a second bear has been spotted on the grounds of the Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills, where another bear was captured after getting stuck inside a department store at the mall.

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"We've created a situation where we've built the mall -- we being people -- in an area that maybe is traditionally inhabited (by) bears, so we've kind of moved in on their territory, and they're unfortunately moving back on our territory," Wildlife Conservation Officer Matt Kramer said.

The bear emerged near The Olive Garden around 11:45 p.m. Saturday and then reappeared around 7:45 p.m. Sunday, backing up traffic on Route 28. It has not been caught yet.

"We bait a bear trap with doughnuts. We load it up. We want it to smell like a Krispy Kreme factory in there -- the sweeter, the better," Kramer said. "The bear trap is a large, basically, piece of pipe that we pull behind our vehicles, and it has a treadle in there. When the bear walks in and steps on that treadle, it will close the trap door behind it. It's not the traditional trap that you see on cartoons with the big teeth and big jaws on it. It's actually what is known as a live trap. Most times, there is not a doughnut left in that trap when Officer Kramer rolls up."

If the bear falls for the bait and gets trapped, "we'll either take it north or into the south-central mountainous areas, where a bear can be a bear and not shopping here at the Pittsburgh Mills mall," Kramer said.

Channel 4 Action News' Bob Hazen reported the bear went through the mall parking lot and into Sears using one of the automated doors, then became stuck in the lobby area, where the Game Commission tranquilized it.

The captured bear appeared to be around 1 1/2 years old and had a tracking collar from a previous capture in Cambria County, so it was taken back to that area, Kramer said.

What happens if someone encounters a bear? "We would want to shout, clap our hands. If you're wearing a jacket or have an extra piece of clothing, make yourself as big as you possibly can," Kramer said. "Tell that bear, 'Hey, bear, get out of here.' Make yourself big. We do not want to approach the bear. We want to keep our distance, and that would include staying in our vehicles any time we would see a bear."